U.S. Seeks to Aid Iraqi Charter, at a Distance

By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and DAVID E. SANGER

Published: August 31, 2005

Seeking to promote the ratification of the proposed Iraqi constitution without placing more of an American stamp on the process, the Bush administration is planning steps to encourage approval of the new charter while avoiding a specific endorsement or outright campaigning on its behalf, White House officials said Tuesday.

The officials said the United States could help with printing and distributing copies of the proposed constitution throughout Iraq, continue to encourage international support for ratification of the document, press other countries in the region to use their influence with Sunnis in particular to take part in the voting, and help the Sunnis talk to Shiite and Kurdish leaders about how the document could be refined.

''We will continue to be a voice and a facilitator of greater understanding between the three communities,'' said Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser. ''But it is their document and they will have to take the lead on this point.''

Mr. Hadley said in an interview that the United States could also ''help explain, in Iraq and to the international community, what is in the document,'' and could work with the United Nations to provide technical assistance to the Iraqis in voter registration, setting up polling places and other logistical issues related to the referendum.

The efforts are part of a broader strategy by the administration to maintain some progress toward political stability in Iraq even as the United States continues to fight an insurgency whose lethality has not been diminished by the passage of milestones like the transfer of sovereignty back to the Iraqis, national elections and now the completion of a draft constitution.

Despite the bloody toll inflicted by the insurgents on American forces and Iraqis in the last month, administration officials said they did not foresee any changes in President Bush's basic strategy. Acknowledging increased anxiety among Americans at the losses in Iraq, the officials said Mr. Bush would spend much of September speaking publicly about the importance of defeating the insurgents and nursing Iraq to stability.

But Dan Bartlett, President Bush's counselor, said he saw no evidence that an antiwar movement in the United States was growing in size or influence, despite the publicity surrounding the protest mounted outside the president's ranch in Texas by Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq.

At an appearance in San Diego on Tuesday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II, Mr. Bush again spoke in positive terms about the draft constitution, brushing aside concerns about how adequately it addresses issues like women's rights. But he stopped short, as he has since it was completed over the weekend, from specifically calling for its passage, a distinction that appeared to be little more than a diplomatic nicety given that failure to get the document ratified would be a deep blow to his strategy for dealing with Iraq.

''In Iraq, people have come together to write a constitution that guarantees freedom for all Iraqi citizens,'' Mr. Bush said.

''The document they have produced protects fundamental human freedoms including freedom for women, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression,'' he said. ''This constitution is the result of democratic debate and compromise, and the Iraqi citizens can be proud of what they have accomplished.''

Mr. Hadley was reluctant to draw a bright line between what kind of advocacy for the constitution would be permissible or advisable for American officials, and what kind would constitute interference with Iraq's creation of its own founding documents.

''The president has made clear that this is an Iraqi process,'' he said.

Asked whether the administration would try to influence the Oct. 15 referendum or the election scheduled for December by covert activity, Mr. Hadley repeated the administration's policy of declining to discuss such action, but he immediately added that ''Iraqi elections, including the referendum, should reflect the freely expressed will of the Iraqi people.''

Mr. Hadley disputed the widespread criticism that training of Iraqi forces was proceeding too slowly. ''I think we are actually happy with the pace of the training,'' he said.

But other administration officials have noted that the White House's claims a year ago of the number of troops and police who had been trained had proved to be overstated and that Mr. Bush has rarely gone into detail in public about what level would constitute a truly self-sufficient Iraqi security force.

Even as it grapples with events on the ground in Iraq, the administration is faced with the job of shoring up public opinion at home after a month in which a spike in casualties, Ms. Sheehan's highly publicized protests and Mr. Bush's declining poll numbers on his handling of Iraq have intensified the White House's political problems.

Mr. Bartlett emphasized the positive, as Mr. Bush has done in his speeches, welcoming, for example, statements by Sunni leaders that they would remain engaged in the political process even though they oppose the draft constitution.

''The question that has to be asked is, are we still achieving our objectives in that country?'' Mr. Bartlett said. ''The answer to that question is, slowly but surely we are.''

He added, though, that Mr. Bush recognized how difficult it was to defeat the insurgency and the continued sacrifice that doing so would involve.

''We're not under any illusion that a political process or the passage of a piece of paper called a constitution is going to change the determination of the enemy,'' he said. ''In fact, we've said just the opposite, that as each of these milestones are being met, it will in many ways inspire them to show they won't be deterred.''

In a way, Mr. Bartlett suggested, the insurgency had provided an impetus to Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis to come together by leading them to see the necessity of stabilizing their own country.

Photo: President Bush praised Iraq's draft charter yesterday at the Naval Air Station in San Diego. (Photo by Jeff Mitchell/Reuters)